Zekrom/BW
Zekrom is a mandatory story encounter exclusive to Pokémon White Version. It can only be found within N's Castle and comes at Level 50. The more physically focused version mascot of the first set of Unova games, Zekrom possesses a one of a kind typing and a mold breaker clone letting it cut through abilities. A titanic 150 base attack stat and fantastic STAB options make Zekrom an incredibly powerful Pokémon... in the postgame. Like Reshiram, Zekrom has the misfortune of being locked to its initial moveset in the final few fights and suffers more from DragonBreath being underwhelming due to its lower special attack. On the plus side, it fares better overall against N and Ghetsis than its Fire-type counterpart, even if there are still fights it wants to avoid. Important Matchups * N (N's Castle): While Reshiram is two levels higher than Zekrom, N thought getting rid of DragonBreath was a good idea, evening the playing field a bit. However be careful as Hyper Beam has a noticeable chance to 2HKO in contrast to DragonBreath's 3HKO. Regardless, if he starts spamming Fusion Flare, you win as it is a 4HKO, just keep healing and be ready to switch because of the elephant in the room, Reflect, which swings this fight massively in his favor. In regards to the rest of his team, Zekrom shreds both Archeops and Carracosta with Fusion Bolt, although healing will likely be needed due to Archeops being significantly faster and Carracosta having Sturdy in order to get Stone Edges (or Archeops's case, Dragon Claws) off. Vanilluxe may be a threat as a result of Blizzard, which has a small chance to OHKO, so while it is a risky proposition, it is not impossible in a pinch as Fusion Bolt is a 2HKO (Zekrom needs at least 109 speed for this to work). Klinklang does nothing to Zekrom, even after a Metal Sound, and is 2HKO'd by Fusion Bolt for the trouble. The special defense drop will make Zoroark risky as a critical Dark Pulse at -2 will OHKO Zekrom, otherwise the move is normally a 3HKO and Zoroark is OHKO'd by Fusion Bolt. * Ghetsis (N's Castle): Cofagrius is a nuisance due to its bulk and Toxic-Protect strategy. Fusion Bolt is a 3HKO in contrast to Shadow Ball's 4HKO so watch your HP and Zekrom should come out on top. Bouffalant loses as Head Charge is a 3HKO in contrast to Fusion Bolt's 2HKO. Bisharp suffers a similar fate, although Metal Burst may prove to be fatal, best to weaken it with DragonBreath before going for the Fusion Bolt KO, a total of 4 hits. The same applies with Night Slash, so only engage if you have more than 102 speed. Eelektross is easy enough, Zen Headbutt outdamages Crunch (4HKO in comparison to a 6HKO). Seismitoad and Hydreigon ruin Zekrom, stay away. * Post-Game: You actually have access to its TM movepool atop its move relearner stuff now. Additionally, it's an incredibly powerful legendary Pokémon up against overleveled, unevolved Pokémon for the most part, go wild. Moves When caught, Zekrom will have the following moves: DragonBreath, Slash, Zen Headbutt and Fusion Bolt. Hopefully, you are content with this, as you will not have a chance to change it before the postgame. In regards to that, the first move Zekrom picks up is Dragon Claw at level 54, although you already have the TM for that. Regardless, it should replace DragonBreath immediately. Imprison at level 64 is mostly pointless as the few dragons remaining tend to be faster than Zekrom, but Crunch at level 71 is a useful option for handling Shauntal and Caitlin in the Elite Four rematches. While powerful, Thunder is generally outclassed by Fusion Bolt due to coming off Zekrom's weaker offensive stat at level 81. After this is Outrage at level 85, Hyper Voice at level 91 and finally, Zekrom's most powerful Electric STAB option and secondary signature move, Bolt Strike at level 100. While Zekrom's move relearner options are relatively underwhelming in contrast to its later options, it does get a decent selection of TMs in order to enhance its offensive. Already mentioned was Dragon Claw, Zekrom's primary Dragon STAB. Other options include Stone Edge/'Rock Slide' as a way to hit opposing Fire/Ice-types, Return as a general purpose Normal-type option, Psychic to cover Fighting and Poison-types, Focus Blast as a somewhat unreliable way to handle Steel and Rock-types, and Shadow Ball, which is mostly outclassed by Crunch. Finally, as a Dragon-type, Zekrom has access to Draco Meteor through the move tutor, which may have use as a one off fire and forget tool against physically bulky Pokémon. Recommended Moveset: Fusion Bolt, Dragon Claw, Stone Edge/Rock Slide, Return/Psychic/Focus Blast/Draco Meteor. Actual Moveset pre-postgame: Fusion Bolt, DragonBreath, Slash, Zen Headbutt Recommended Teammates *'Water-types:' Zekrom has issues dealing with Vanilluxe which these Pokémon can take on without issue. They also serve as a soft check to hard answer to Hydreigon and Reshiram to boot. In response Zekrom dismantles any Grass or Electric-type that looks at them funny in the postgame as well as taking out Ghetsis' Eelektross. **''A few Pokémon that fit this description include:'' Samurott, Seismitoad, Simipour, Swanna and Jellicent *'Grass-types:' These slaughter Seismitoad, which is a major pain in Zekrom's side. In exchange, Zekrom can handle most of the Pokémon that would give them trouble (Besides the Hydreigon and Vanilluxe) **''A few Pokémon that fit this description include:'' Serperior, Simisage, Whimsicott, Lilligant and Leavanny *'Ground-types:' In the entirely possible event that Reshiram forces Zekrom to withdraw, it is useful to have something that can smack it through its Fire-typing to get it out of the picture quickly. Zekrom stomps on Carracosta and Zoroark, both potential threats against the best Ground-types the region offers. Note that Excadrill is not really suited to the task on the threat of Fusion Flare induced death unless it has both a Ground Gem equipped and more than 125 speed going into the fight, it is also far from a safe switch in unless Reshiram just used Hyper Beam. **'A few Pokémon that fit this description include:' Excadrill, Seismitoad and Krookodile *'Fighting-types:' The biggest issue facing Zekrom in the main fights it can be used in is Ghetsis' Hydreigon, which does not really care about DragonBreath and mauls the legend with Dragon Pulse. Thankfully the list of powerful Fighting-types that Unova has to offer serves as a reliable answer to it and reduces the pressure in handling Vanilluxe and Bisharp. Zekrom murders Archeops and Cofagrigus in exchange. **''A few Pokémon that fit this description include: Conkeldurr, Throh, Sawk ,and Mienshao Other Zekrom's stats * '''What Nature do I want?' Adamant without a shadow of a doubt, because more dakka is always good. * How good is Zekrom in a Nuzlocke? It's an incredibly powerful Pokémon held back by the flaws in its starting movepool. However it does do significantly better against N than Reshiram does, and while its match up with Ghetsis is slightly worse, this does not undo the benefits it has against N. However as a postgame Pokémon, Zekrom's lesser TM options does limit its effectiveness somewhat. * Weaknesses: Ground, Ice, and Dragon * Resistances: Steel, Fire, Grass, and Electric * Immunities: None * Neutralities: Normal, Fighting, Rock, Flying, Poison, Ghost, Water, Psychic, and Dark Category:Black/White Category:List of Evolutionary Lines with Completed Analyses Category:Legendary Pokémon Category:Electric-Type Category:Dragon-Type